i finally went for a 2nd opinion today 6 months after great toe fusion. this was an otho who said my pod did a great job in terms of the hardware and my toe fused. he did not like the way my toe was angled inward, but said not to correct it. he said the plate in my toe would have to come out because it is too long for my toe and is causing me some of the pain. he said i needed to wait a full year before it came out and my 2nd toe has to be cut on the bottom so it can go down. this was a hammertoe and it sticks up about 10 degrees. he said i am still in the healing process and my toe is extremely swollen. i dont know whether i should go to him for the plate removal or back to the pod. he also said i have to go to specialty stores for wide and deep depth shoes. when the plate comes out it may help a little with shoes. please fusion people tell me if anyone is back into a regular shoe and did it take a full year to recover. if i have surgery in nov. it will ruin christmas vacation plans. does anyone think it can be done a month early? thanks for any comments or advice debbie g i am still so depressed

Hi Debbie. I had my big toe operated on 3 times in 11 months. The first one was a Keller procedure in Nov. '05. I also had toes 2 and 3 done with osteotomies. They all failed so 5/06 I had Big toe fused with graft, plate and screws and toes 2 and 3 re-done. He fused the toe at such an angle that it sat partly on my 2nd toe and ruined my 2nd toe even more. I went to another doctor and in 10/06 he moved the tip of the big toe (leaving the plate and screws in place) and re-did the 2nd toe (that was 4 surgeries total on that toe and was almost in need of an amputation). So.......at this point the plate and screws are still in. My doctor did tell me that it takes upwards to about a year for fusions to totally be done and especially if one has a graft also. At last x-ray it looked like I was still "fusing". I'm thankful that the hardware hasn't caused any problems (unless something hits the top of my foot). I'm in regular tennis shoes and my casual shoes are bigger in the toe area. I had to find flip flops that didn't have a strap between the 2nd & big toe (that is sad and very very hard to find). When I had both surgeries in the fall, I did a lot of Christmas shopping online. My kids are older and they helped also. I just dealt with it because 3 surgeries in 11 months took a huge toll on me. I see my doctor in the fall because I will probably be dealing with my other foot then. I would rather get it done in the fall so that the nice weather is over and hopefully have the winter to heal before the nice weather returns in the spring. That was good you had a second opinion to at least get a fresh set of eyes on the issues at hand. Keep us posted.
Janie

hi Debbie,

I am so sorry that you seem to be having so much trouble with your toe. I had my toe fused on 12/05...about 16 weeks later we had decided it failed so I had it re-done in June '06. In June '06 I had a screw placed in my toe and it finally healed. I am almost a year out and am, for the most part, back into regular shoes. I have had some difficulty with shoes...I am only 23 and the shoes I really want to wear I can't because of the heel height, but overall it is okay. I do have trouble with my toe rubbing on the top of shoes, which I think is common for people who have had this done. It is just important to remember that your toe is at angle now and that the toe box needs to be roomier and larger. About the hardware being removed after a year, I have heard that, that is the rule. Doctors don't want to remove it for a full year because they want to make sure everything is healed and not going anywhere. Good luck with everything and it will get better :)

:wave:
Liz

thanks for replying guys. i am afraid my big toe is starting to rest on my 2nd toe. but the only surgery i want is to take the metal plate out and the tendon cutting on the bottom of ny 2nd toe so it maybe rest on the floor like it should have to begin with. even after a year is over, what kind of dress shoes are there with wide toe boxes? i found a trick with flip flops. take them to the shoemaker and he can add extra material to make the thong longer and it wont be tight. the trick is to get it inbetween the toes to begin with. dont make them too long or you wont have any support. i still cant decide which dr to go baack to for the plate removal-the old pod or the new ortho. does anyone think i should get a 3rd opinion? i am still so confused. the shoe stretchers i bought arent really working. my toe just seems to be in the way.

can anyone tell me if their big toe is still swollwn after toe fusion and how long it was swollen? i am hoping i will hear some replies thanks, debbie g

I had swelling for a year. After that point it still comes and goes.........I am 2 years out now and spent the day at Universal Studios and let me tell ya, my toe is FAT! But it isnt near a bad as it use to be. This surgery takes alot of time to heal.

d, you actually saw the swelling go down on your toe? i cant picture this at all. could you get a strap between your toes and isnt it better to wear something more secure on your foot? does the strap on a sandal hurt your toe?

debbie................I didnt say I saw the swelling go down on my toe...........I said it was swollen for a year after my fusion. It also swells when I walk too much even after all this tme like yesterday at Universal. Today is better, it doesnt last long anymore. Yes, I can wear a strap between m toes and no it doesnt bother me anymore, it did at first. I wear sneakers alot too but I wear alot of sandles and it doesn bother me at all, the fusion is solid so I wear what I want.